Everything
by Zezima129
Summary: You ain't seen nothing like this. Or actually you have...silly double negatives. This will incorporate every medium of entertainment, every show, every book, every movie, everything I have seen or heard in modern society. is a bit iffy about defining this in its categories, so why don't you check it out for yourself? Also, mind bending mystery inbound. Brace yourself
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : Hi Guys! I'm a new author who's been reading for a good long while. Here's something I came up with in Paris.**

**Hey, it worked for Hemmingway and the lost Generation.**

Once upon a very ordinary time, there was a fairly ordinary guy named Luke. His last name I have forgotten **(or maybe I just don't know...) **and he was walking down a street when things started exploding. Now, from his experience reading books and sparring in Kung Fu class, he figured out very fast that a good place to be was somewhere else. So he ran away very quickly. Into a wall. An invisible one, to be fair, but it still hurt. He almost didn't notice that the explosions had stopped. He didn't notice that the scene had changed a bit. Then he opened his eyes and noticed.

"Holy shit!" Now Luke didn't usually swear, but sometimes, especially when alone, he couldn't help it. And I don't blame him; he was looking at a strange, futuristic city. His brain, surprisingly functional, worked out quite promptly that he'd run into the city's defenses. He was just beginning to wonder how to get in and ask how to get home, when the scene changed again. This time he instantly recognized the location. Christopher Paolini described it very well, and all the elvish traits of the surrounding people...or elves, rather, helped. He was in Ellesméra. And he wasn't quite sure it was a good thing that the elves had noticed him, too. They looked at him curiously, although not with too much alarm. A rational part of him remembered they were used to magic, and realized they probably thought he had arrived by magic. And for all he knew, he had.

...

Vanir was having an interesting day, to say the least. First Eragon was acting strangely, and then broke his arm with incredible swordsmanship. He was bolstered by the fact that there was now hope for the elves, and all who resisted Galbatorix, and wondered whether Saphira had perhaps chosen Eragon for a different kind of strength than Vanir had originally been judging by. Perhaps he had been too impulsive...?

He was roused from his broodings when a strange boy, dressed in the strangest clothing, appeared in the middle of a clearing. All he could do was stare. The elves around him were obviously just as confused. There was no indication of his arrival; he was just suddenly...there. Could even magic do that? Obviously it could, it just had, but how? They were in the middle of Ellesméra, in the middle of Du Weldenvarden! Shouldn't Gilderien the Wise or the enchantments around the whole forest have prevented anyone from breaching the city's defenses? What was going on?

For his part, the human kid looked almost as bewildered as they did. He was staring at them in disbelief, even fear. That wasn't too unusual; humans generally didn't know much about elves. And if he was from the Empire, who knew what had been propagated into his mind. Then the human broke the silence.

"D-do any of you speak...English?" he asked.

"Of course we do!" Vanir exclaimed in English. What barbaric notions was the Empire teaching its children!?

"Oh right...you could talk to Eragon..." he muttered. What! This human kid knew about Eragon! And his whereabouts! How!

"How do you know that name?" an elf to Vanir's right demanded.

"Shit!"

**A/N: Right! Sample complete! I may be manipulating or disappointing you a bit with that cliffhanger, but I want a gauge of how much how many people want more. The next chapter, and the rest of the story will come out much faster if I feel like there's interest. Of course, it'll probably come out anyway, but it won't be a priority of mine if no one cares but me.**

**Oh yeah, and don't sue me. I'm doing this for free, so that would be a bit pointless. Sue me for money I don't have? Good luck.**

**And yeah, bold = author's thoughts superimposed on the text.**

**More to come, but how soon? You tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So as best as I can tell, there's been some readers, but no one reviewing to say they are really interested. (I wrote that a week or so ago, before being f**ked by starting college. Thanks to the one reviewer. You are truly special.) Give me some clues guys, it really does help. Anyway...story.**

Luke was worried. He'd heard people didn't always read authors notes and review like **I asked...**so the fourth wall broke, and he got confused. Seriously guys, I mean it. Also I'm incredibly sorry to those who want the story because of a certain cliffhanger I may or may not have written, but are nice enough to read this anyway.

...

"Shit!" Luke's first thought was that he really needed to cut down on the swearing he'd been doing recently. He really didn't like swearing, whether he was doing it or someone else was doing it. His second thought was that he had just revealed that he knew something no random human should know, who Eragon was, and where he was as well, and that the elves might react poorly. Damage control time.

"Look, I have no idea how I got here, but you may not believe how I know of Eragon. It's a very strange story," he said, "Come to think of it, I've been having a strange day..." He muttered the last part, once again forgetting the elves had supernatural hearing.

"And just how strange is your story, human? Your arrival here is strange enough, due to-"

"Your wards?" Luke figured he'd tipped his hand already, so it didn't hurt to keep the elves a bit off balance. "I hear nothing can penetrate them, yet here I am. You just have to believe my word, as I don't know the ancient language, that I have no idea how I came to be here."

"You...you speak of things that you should have no knowledge of, even in the Varden, such knowledge cannot be commonplace. Who are you?

"You've never heard of me, but my name is Luke. I'm a human, from a place beyond this world. Outside it, anyway..." As the elves tried futilely to hide their shock at this, Eragon flew over on Saphira. They were curious about the crowd, so they stopped to investigate. Spoiler alert, more shockers coming.

"Who's the boy?" Asked Eragon, curious about the only other human in Ellesméra other than him.

"You're Eragon. Oromis must have finished with you. There is little more in terms of raw skill he can teach you anymore, that sling on Vanir over there gives a few clues as to what day this is if memory serves." Eragon would have fallen over, and likely had an attack from his back, had this sequence happened a week earlier. As it was he stumbled as if struck, jabbed hard at the boy's conscience, and then backed away a few steps.

"You don't have a mind!" he exclaimed. As he would later tell Orik, everyone could be felt, and felt unique, even if their mind was shielded against all entry. Where the boy was, he sensed nothing, just as though there was only air where he stood.

Luke almost felt insulted...then he realized what Eragon meant. He then became very confused.

"Of course I have a mind," he said, "I'm using it to think right now!" He stated this as if it would prove he had a mind.

It didn't.

He did use his mind to figure out that this would be to his supreme advantage though. A world of mind readers and magic users, and he was immune to half of that power...if he remembered correctly, that was one of the key problems at the end of the series, too much power in magic users. Maybe if he stuck around that long, he could help that situation a bit. Of course, he wouldn't stay that long or help that situation, but he was allowed to think positively.

Eragon and Saphira connected their minds with the elves to consider this recent arrival.

_He doesn't seem hostile, _Saphira pointed out.

_Looks can be deceiving, just look in a mirror, Shadeslayer, _replied Vanir.

_And the fact that we can't sense his mind at all is very disturbing, we should at least keep an eye on him at all times, _Eragon added.

As one, he, Saphira and he elves reached out to Islanzadí to ask for guards and a pleasant place to keep this...Luke.

* . .he.*(


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sincerest Apologies. The Dark One took a momentary leave of his senses. I returned them to him along with a small piece of metal traveling at a few thousand miles per hour. We shouldn't be hearing from him for a good long while, at least.**

*Hehheeheehee...that's what he thinks.*(

Luke suddenly realized that he was in a fanfic. A particular one that ended in Eragon/Arya lemons. He wanted a piece of the action. But Stanley was scared. What if something were to happen? What if he had to make a choice? Nukes could happen, along with an annoying British narrator. No. The balrog _would not pass._ Dumbledore was sure of this. The defensive wards would prevent it!

**A/N: *Cough cough.* I do proofread, Dark One. You do realize this, don't you? You should now...but it's too late. The dramatic ending after a second chance I offered will not happen. You are dead. Period. I apologize, my faithful reviewer. My readers who I don't know because they don't review. But the threat of the Dark One is truly over now. I won't make **_**that**_** mistake again. It is fortunate I keep backup copies, isn't it, husk of the Dark One?**

Islanzadí was quick on the uptake, and offered Luke a nice room in Tialdarí Hall, as there were plenty of elves around to monitor him there. She also asked of all visitors to attempt to figure out even in part the enigma that Luke entailed. No one could detect even a whisper of his mind. He was guarded 24/7 by vigilant elfin guards, who would change the guard even to go into the trancelike state they visited at night. Luke also met many friendly elves, some of whom thought that talking to this boy was a much easier way to figure him out that speculating or trying to probe his mind. Luke always submitted willingly to all probing, mainly because he knew they weren't violating and couldn't violate his privacy.

One day, when wandering the halls, he came across a particular closed flower. Black, and clamped shut. He really wished he knew the word for 'open' in the ancient language, but as far as he knew, Paolini had never revealed it, even in the backs of the books. A pretty elf stepped up next to him.

"Do you like the flowers before you?" she asked in a musical voice.

"I've always wanted to see this particular trio open..." he replied, hoping she would oblige him.

She did. It was more beautiful than Paolini or any author could possibly have described.

"Thank you Arya," he said, intentionally revealing his knowledge of her identity.

"I was told you might know me," she said, "I must admit to a great curiosity as to how you obtained such knowledge."

"It's simple really. You have an incredibly perfect smell of crushed pine that hangs about your presence, you have long, straight, black hair, you are exactly the type Eragon would fall for, and you knew the secret of Fäolin's flowers."

"Simple!" she exclaimed. "That knowledge is not simple! How do you know of Fäolin? Of any of this? I've hardly told anyone about these things!"

Luke sighed. "You may just have to accept that I know things about you that are inexplicable. For example, the fact that you secretly reciprocate Eragon's feelings, but are far too duty-bound and tense to admit it."

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, HUMAN!" Arya stormed. She was fuming. No one could know that. She had never told anyone, partly due to confusion. The boy's words stuck truth though. That was what bothered her.

Arya was so caught up in thoughtful rage she didn't notice the binding spell Luke's guards put on her. Luke did though. And told them to release it. He wanted to talk to her on as equal a ground as he could, dangerous as that may be.

"Boy, you had better have a very good explanation for yourself, because there is very little you can say right now that would-" Arya broke off. Her eyes unfocused and then refocused. She spoke again.

"I am sorry. I did not intend insult. I was merely curious, earthling."

Now Luke was confused. How did Arya know of Earth? He was fairly certain Alagaesia wasn't on Earth.

"We both know things of each other now, do we not?" he asked.

"We do," she replied

"Very well. The guards can trust you to watch me alone, can they not? I give my word you won't harm me."

"And you me?"

"You are an elf princess. I don't think they should worry about that..."

"Very well. Leave us, if you please," Arya asked. The elves touched their fingers to their lips, and then left silently.

"Right," Luke began, "Most of this is speculation, but here's what happened. I was walking home one day, in my own world, on a peaceful street in a peaceful town. Then, everything around me was exploding. As I tried to run for shelter, I hit something. It was invisible. A force field defense for some futuristic city. As I gathered my thoughts on what happened, I appeared in the clearing where I was found. You've surely heard the rest."

Arya was silent for a few minutes, taking in all the information. Then:

"I was contacted. By one with greater knowledge than yours."

Then she left, and Luke was just as confused as ever.

**A/N: This is approximately normal chapter length and content. More will come, at some kind of interval, as I figure out the school enigma. Much will be explored, more than you think. And you are never over thinking a situation, although I can't guarantee you are thinking correctly.**

**Review or face a lack of acknowledgement by this author.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Willowsoar. I will eventually get to everything I have ever come across and more. I will warn though, that my knowledge of warriors is limited to little more than the original series up to Firestar's children and I can't remember much. It will probably a very limited exposure to the story, as Luke talking to cats is another barrier to overcome. **

Luke was very confused. Who had contacted Arya that had known more than him? He found it hard to believe anyone in this world knew more about it. Unless they were like him...he'd tried asking her, but she simply said that he didn't need to know, and likely wouldn't for quite a while. And also, to be fair, she told him that she had no idea either. It was simply a voice sounding in her head, without a mind, as if it weren't a person touching her mind, but some other means of telepathy. The whole matter was confusing. But Luke was getting used to confusing.

**A/N: Then I decided to tease him, because I am not entirely benign. I spoke the word, "Hi," in his head.**

Luke flipped out.

"Whosaidthat?Whajushappened?"

His guards were getting used to confusion as well.

"Luke, are you okay?" one asked. "Did something strange just happen?"

"No," Luke said, squeezing every drop of sarcasm he could out of his voice, not satisfied with a gentle dripping. "I freak out and talk incredibly quickly and unintelligibly just to confuse you."

The guards had heard of a human expression called sarcasm, and had the feeling they were seeing it in action. They pushed down their curiosity, however, and asked whether he could explain what had happened.

"I was mulling over how everything is so confusing and difficult to understand, when I heard the word, "hi," in a male voice, inside my head."

The guard considered this.

"Perhaps someone was trying to get through to your mind, and succeeded? This merits looking into."

"I doubt that someone succeeded at entering my mind when so many have failed, and it felt nothing like what I've heard having another presence in your mind feels like. It was just a word, stated inside my head."

"Interesting...we'll have to see if Oromis has time to talk to you, he is experienced in the matter of young ones, and teaching them things that are hard to understand."

I can only wonder if he'll understand me.

**A/N: Sorry for a short chapter after so long, but I've been experiencing writer's block a small amount, and also college business. I do promise another chapter (whose length I don't yet have the means to estimate) soon, which I will write when it is not late at night, or I'll write it over a few nights. Anyway, ask questions, and review, I really mean it. If I get less reviews than traffic, people somewhere will start dying.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well imagine that! I may actually fulfill my promise and get another chapter out by the weekend...anyway...story.**

"Hello, master Oromis," Luke began, "Some of my guards, and the Queen as well, agree that you may find answers where no one else yet has."

"I may, but your attitude is not encouraging," Oromis replied.

"I'm sorry, it's just that no one has come close to succeeding in touching, or even detecting my mind. It's hard to be enthusiastic about something when it has such a low chance of working."

"And there we have what might just be the heart of the problem: belief."

"Belief?"

Omomis steepled his fingers. "Think, Luke. If you are trying to accomplish something you've never done before, and you don't believe you can do it in your heart, do you really have a chance? I've been keeping up with your progress, and I have theorized that you may simply have to believe that it's possible, to be able to touch my mind, or at least open your mind to mine."

Luke thought. It made sense. A common idea in philosophy and psychology, which was used in many fiction novels, was that belief allows one to accomplish anything one can set their mind to. And come to think of it, he hadn't believed in the powers of this world and their capability to read his mind when he had arrived, because he'd been too overwhelmed. And once he learned that his mind was impregnable and undetectable, it was easy to believe.

But maybe...Luke focused. He saw a black swordsman in a strange environment, one that didn't quite look real. Then, as though he had been bound all his life by iron barriers around his mind which had suddenly fallen off, his mind exploded outwards. It encountered...good God, that's what Paolini meant by strange and alluring musical minds. He could feel the minds of his guards, carefully shielded, one focused on his spear, the other on...Luke had no idea what that was. Some...elf sculpture...art... impossible to say. And Oromis's mind. Open, vast, and incomprehensible. Just being in the area cowed Luke. His mind made a rapid tactical retreat, curling up and focusing on inward matters.

"Very good! It's always nice when a theory of mine is correct. Now I wonder, is it possible for you to stop believing in this world once more, to hide in complete efficiency from it?" Oromis sounded quite enthusiastic.

"I don't know...now that I'm certain it's possible, that would be difficult."

"How certain of its possibility were you before? You overcame that."

"You planted the idea that my mind could open, and it made sense to me. But to close it..."

"You would need to realize that it is indeed possible, as you have had your mind closed before."

"Indeed I would! I think you may be on to something, Ebrithil. I have an idea of my own."

Luke focused once more, this time on the belief that he was entirely separate from the world he was in, and so he could not be detected by it.

"You have faded once more, my friend," said Oromis.

"Now try to cast a spell on me. Something simple, like a spell to move my hand without my volition."

"Oho! I hadn't thought of that! Has no one tried to cast a spell of you yet?"

"No, they haven't. And if they can't read my mind, perhaps my disconnection to this world extends even further than I originally thought."

"Very well. Let's see what happens. Audr!" Luke felt nothing unusual take place to his hand or any other part of him.

"Odd, the spell didn't even drain me of energy...it's as though I wasn't trying to cast a spell, but was merely talking in the ancient language. But I did access magic and try to channel it using words."

"Maybe if you try to channel it without words?"

Oromis was only a little surprised that Luke knew such a secret of gramayre. He attempted to life Luke's hand without speaking a phrase in the ancient language, but once again found that the energy he was attempting to channel into the task vanished as if he wasn't trying to do anything to it. He had another idea, though and this time attempted to lift Luke's chair.

Luke felt himself lift into the air, and thought that the unspoken magic had worked, but then noticed that his chair had followed him up. He figured quite quickly that Oromis had simply lifted his chair, to see if there was any way to lift him using magic. Now the difficult part was not falling off of it and looking stupid...ah, Oromis put the chair back down. Phew.

"Well, it appears magic can be used to hurt me, just not directly when I stop interacting with it. Interesting," Luke mused. It probably would have been too much to ask for to be unaffected by objects affected by magic.

"Indeed," Oromis mused back, also deep in thought.

Luke had another idea. Immersing himself in the knowledge that he could interact with others' minds, he picked up a stone. He held it in his palm, focused on it, and just as he'd read Eragon had done, searched for the magic in his mind. He felt it immersed himself in its flow as he broke the barrier separating it from his mind, and said the two classic words: "Stenir, reisa!" To his surprise, the stone shot off of his hand, startling him out of the flow of magic. The stone flew at least ten feet in the air before coming back down. Luke caught it, wincing slightly as it stung his palm.

"So I can use magic, as well..." He said, "That's surprising. Magic is a rare gift in this world, even if I am fully interacting with it."

"Perhaps not quite so surprising," Oromis said, "You could touch my mind, something that only few _without _magic can do. Although, it is still unusual for a human to have either ability."

"I wonder..." Luke said, thinking of a theory he'd had for a while about uses of magic. But he couldn't vocalize his wish; he would have to use nonverbal magic if he was to test his theory. He immersed himself once more in the flow of magic, closing his eyes, and focused on testing his theory; could he fold space? He felt suddenly drained of energy, though not as much as he would have expected. In the books, magic that was the same as what he thought he had just attempted could exhaust an elf.

He opened his eyes.

"What?!"

...

Luke closed his eyes, and Oromis detected a surge of magic flow through the boy. He wondered what Luke was trying this time. Then the very air around him seemed to fold, collapsing without a sound, leaving behind no trace that Luke had just occupied the chair across from Oromis. Oromis jumped to his feet, already muttering a spell of scanning, to determine what type of spell the boy had attempted. Luke's guards jumped to attention, spears at the ready, trying to use all their warrior's senses to get a grip on the situation. But Oromis waved their weapons back down.

"He has just travelled, as when we use magic to instantly move something from one place to another. I have no idea how, as he did not use anything like the spell we would use for it, and he should have died from the effort of transporting his entire body anywhere. We must inform the Queen, and all of our allies, to keep an eye out, should they see him."

**A/N: Well...I think that's all for this chapter, I hope you like it. I can't help but wonder where you people think Luke ended up. It wasn't where he intended, I'll tell you that much. And that should tell you all you really need to know.**

**More, and likely very soon, as I know exactly where I'm going with this, will come. In the meantime, I forgot to do something last time. Remind you to review. REVIEW PLS. At the least just shoot a guess where Luke ended up. But feedback would be even nicer. Positive or negative, or simple questions you think I could address. Anyway, sayonara. I'm out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Cthulujr, thanks for the review. I don't mind saying you were wrong, as if you read the first paragraph it'll tell you that. I'm also limited by what I've read/watched, and much on that list I haven't. You reminded me of something though. My stories will always branch off of the fact that they were cannon to the original's content until Luke popped up. So if for some reason it isn't, I made a mistake. I'll also be doing my absolute best to keep the characters in character. Now, story.**

Luke couldn't believe it. The circular room, the lava below, the Eldunarí, **Good God, is making an i with that accent incredibly difficult...sorry** could this be...the Vault of Souls? He noticed a metal man with the head of a dragon, just as Paolini had described. He also remembered what came next, and focused hard on the knowledge that he didn't have to interact with their minds at all. He didn't want his mind ripped into six pieces.

"Can you hear me if I speak without my mind?" Luke asked aloud. But the dragon suddenly tensed. It began to walk towards him! He stepped out of its way, well out of its way, keeping in mind its sword, and watched as it stopped, exactly where he had been, and turned, facing exactly the same direction he had. It must have caught a glimpse of his mind...but it could only sense things through its mind! He was hesitant to interact with its mind, and the multitudes of others, for the knowledge they might uncover.

**Sorry buddy, but I have the control here.**

What was that!? And then Luke's mind was split, he lost all sensation and meaning. Everything seemed to whirl about, everything he'd ever known, but not his past, just his basic human understandings of knowledge. It was unusual. Then, with startling clarity, he heard these words. **You can do more than you know. And I more than any could imagine. Worry not when you are in trouble. I can always help.** What did _that_ mean? Where had he heard this voice before? And then clarity slipped away from him again.

...

Luke vaguely remembered being bossed around, and recalling things he'd forgotten he knew.

_The young mystery is awake._

The Eldunarí! He could hear them! But that meant...

_I am indeed sorry. We could not discern a past from you either. You are truly alien to this world. Your knowledge...we no longer wonder of many things._

Luke tentatively directed his thoughts.

_You...what did you find in my mind then?_

_A great deal, for one so young. You seem to understand many things we have meditated for years to comprehend, as though they are basic knowledge where you are from. But it seems as though you didn't exist before dropping in unexpectedly on our elven friends._

_I did exist though...perhaps it's best you don't know about that though. Do I correctly assume that you diverted my magic and brought me here? I certainly wasn't trying to be anywhere near here._

_We did not, but it seems that one of our brethren wrapped still in a shell let loose a pulse of magic, quite potent, as you may know, it was dragon magic._

Luke grew excited._ Do you know which one?_

_Nay, but you do._

And...it seemed he did. He could clearly picture a yellow egg, about 7 feet off the ground, just a bit to his right. He walked over to it. _May I?_ He asked.

_Young one, I doubt we could stop you if we tried._

He reached out and touched the egg, and gasped. He clearly felt its mind..._his_ mind. The dragon was male. And it was...unruly. And...he was in a large, grassy field? The egg fell to the ground. Why did everything look so...artificial? Then his eyes widened with realization. A vision of a swordsman, in a world that didn't quite seem real? A glimpse of his next destination. He was no longer in Alagaësia. He was in Aincrad. This could cause problems.

...

**A/N: Holy mother of an unholy fart. College is brutal if you miss even half a day. Damn unusual medical issues...anyway, sorry for the delay, hope it's worth the wait. R&R if you please, and ideas are welcome. SO SORRY! And everything I said, I meant. There's even things I meant that I neglected to say. Figure out my full meaning and I will be impressed.**


	7. Chaspert 7

**A/N: I...have made bad life choices. I'll try not to let it seep too much into **_**Everything**_**, but chapters may thin out from time to time. I'll try to make longer ones, promise.**

Luke looked around the field, wondering whether or not hostile mobs would spawn here. You could never be sure, unless you were in a town. Of course, unless he ran into a wandering adventurer, he had very little hope of finding a town! But first, he needed to figure out exactly what the Eldunarí had said, and meant, and what that mysterious voice that had spoken to him as his mind had been ripped apart was. That voice had seemed so _in control_...it scared Luke.

Luke was distracted by a slight squeaking and tapping. He looked at the egg...it couldn't be hatching already, could it? The egg settled down a bit. Then it ferociously started rocking back and forth, squeaking up a storm. Luke suddenly wondered what the Cardinal System would make of this. He was distracted by a crack forming, which suddenly burst outwards, messily halving the shell as a dragon hatchling tumbled out. The dragon maintained its upward momentum for a split second, and then fell gracelessly back to the earth. Luke realized with a jolt that he could feel the slight loss of wind from his...no, the hatchling's lungs. So he could still touch at least the dragon's mind in this world. Then he noticed something unusual. A window with lettering that flickered when he looked at it from some characters- Japanese maybe? To English. It said: Congratulations! You've hatched a dragon egg! There was the typical circle and x below. Not knowing which to touch, Luke looked at it, bewildered. He absentmindedly reached down and stroked the dragon-wait-

AAAAAAAAAAGH! An involuntary scream tore itself from Luke's lungs, reminding what little of his brain was functioning of sticking a finger into an electric socket. The pain slowly receded to a burning on his palm. He looked down, knowing what he'd see. He should've been ready when the dragon hatched. An oval glowed silver on his palm. That would be difficult to explain. Although, he was in a world of magic. He wondered if anyone in the game would have read the Inheritance Cycle. It was theoretically possible, the books weren't terribly old in 2022, when the Nerve Gear incident took place.

The dragon's mind touched his again, this time ravenous. Oh boy, where was he going to get food? It wouldn't be long before it could hunt, but what would he do until then? Did his magic still work? He could get pretty creative with that if he had to. He focused on a rock, noticing it come sharply into focus as Cardinal noticed him paying attention to it. He searched for the magic within himself, as he had when he'd teleported. He searched, but didn't find anything. Then the dragon touched his mind. And suddenly, there it was, in plain sight, hidden within him. He breached it, and lifted the stone with it. The dragon withdrew, and suddenly it all vanished. The stone dropped. Could he only interact with the world he was in? But Aincrad had no magic. So the dragon could show him his magic, or was it the pure act of interaction with a creature of the world whose magic he was attempting to use that brought on his ability? He'd have to figure it out.

He remembered back in Ellesméra, how his belief that magic could or couldn't interact with him effected whether or not it could. But that was different here somehow. He had fully believed that he could use magic, but it hadn't worked. But the dragon had allowed him to use magic. So what was it? Was it...like dipping in and out of interaction with the stories he was traveling through? That seemed more likely, because while becoming a dragon rider did grant a human magic, the human could use magic independently from their dragon, unless they needed to borrow strength. He'd have to play around with the idea more when he could. But for now, he could feel with growing intensity that the yellow dragon hatchling needed food. He looked around again. There were some woods a fair ways off in what seemed to be the east, judging by the sunlight. Wait, he could see the sun in the west! That meant it was about to get dark! He needed to find shelter, and fast! Night would probably be a very dangerous time to be out of a city.

He gently picked up the dragon, and then ran toward the forest. He needed to find food, then shelter, or if he was incredibly lucky, a player who could guide him toward the nearest town. As he got to the forest, he slowed his pace, treading carefully, in case there were dangerous mobs around. There! He saw movement. Reaching for the dragon, and his magic with his mind, he sent a rush of energy toward the bush he saw rustling.

"Waaaaa-oof!" A player fell out, of all things. Well this just got a whole lot more complicated. Wait, this player looked awfully familiar, the hair, the clothes...

"What the heck was that?" the guy asked.

Luke struggled for words. "I-I just...I needed food for my dragon, and I was hoping to find something...I'm sorry, I got you instead." he apologized.

"Woah, a dragon pet? Cool, how'd you ever get one?" the player asked.

"I..." Luke hesitated. He couldn't exactly tell the guy he'd been to Alagaësia and hatched one, that wouldn't fly. In Aincrad you had to tame beasts, with food, and at a very low success rate. "I found it, alone, in the middle of a field. There was..." Luke hesitated briefly again, trying to think of a believable food, "some bits of meat next to it, like it had been left to fend for itself with nothing but scraps from a larger beast's meal. I fed it one of the scraps, and then it looked at me so gratefully. Then the system message popped up, saying I'd successfully tamed it."

"Nice! I guess sometimes it's just about luck..." the guy said, looking a bit down.

Luke went out on a limb, and guessed at his identity. "Hey, Kirito, no need to get down. We all have good days."

Suddenly Kirito was on edge. "How the hell do you know my name?" He demanded.

"Relax, I keep up with the latest info. Rumors of a guy on the frontlines, a beater, in black, one single handed sword, no shield...you're an enigma to most." Luke replied, trying to hint that he was some kind of info broker.

Kirito laughed. "I guess someone's noticed me then. It was bound to happen on the front lines."

Luke shrugged "Hey, no biggie. I haven't heard anything bad, although a lot of mystery surrounds you. Anyway, do you have anything to eat? I get the feeling this guy's pretty famished by now."

Kirito opened his menu. "Sure. I have a bit of meat from some wolves I was grinding the other day. Should feed this guy. By the way, what's your name again?"

"It's Luke. I guarantee you haven't heard of me before. But I've been around a bit." Luke saw a window pop up with "Large wolfhound meatx20" on it. He saw the button to materialize some, and pressed it, feeding the dragon with one of the surprisingly large hunks of meat. "How big were these...Large wolfhounds again? This meat is huge!"

"Heh, they were pretty big. Bigger than the both of us, I'd say. So you're American? I'm sorry if it's impolite, but you don't meet many foreigners in SAO."

"Yeah." Luke thought fast. "I was studying abroad." He didn't elaborate. If he remembered correctly, it was considered impolite to pry into people's lives after the Nerve Gear incident in SAO, so Kirito shouldn't ask too many questions. Which would work out nicely in his favor.

"Ah. Anyway, we should head for the nearest town, it's getting dark." Kirito replied.

"Right. I got a bit turned around, do you think you could help me out?" Luke asked.

"Sure." Kirito replied. And they headed off.

**A/N: Right. Sorry again this took so long, but life kinda has to come first. To address a few issues, they'll get addressed as the story progresses. To address some other ones, that I feel won't, the dragon is yellow, not gold, like Glaedr was. There's a difference between the colors, and I always pictured Glaedr as looking like the metal gold does, where Luke's dragon is a definite yellow. Feel free to ask if you think you see a plothole, or somewhere I've misreferenced the original material. Reviews are always welcomed, and indeed requested. Till next time guys. I have a lot more free time in the coming weeks, so expect more chapters, and longer ones too.**


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